Tuesday, September 18, 2012

We’re in the midst of
one of those ‘tweener’ type seasons.Can’t
really decide if it’s summer or fall at the moment.Our days are warm (too warm for September, in
my book), but the evenings are too cool to go running around without a jacket.Personally, I’d like to pick a season and
stick with it.Maybe I’m just looking forward
to some crisp, fall weather.

With the cool temps in
the evening, I got a sudden craving for warm pudding.And since I had just bought a box of those
ginger thins I so love, gingerbread pudding sounded
really good.But I had a hard time
trying to find a recipe online.Most of
the recipes that came up upon Googling ‘gingerbread pudding’ were either baked,
or they were more of a cake than a pudding.I just wanted something simple to whip up on the stove.So I decided to experiment, and you know
what?I think I got it right on the
first attempt.This is a super rich and
decadent pudding, but with the hominess of spices.It will find a place with future, more
elaborate desserts, I’m sure.But at the
moment, I was content to scarf it down with some of those lovely thin cookies.

It was perfect.

Gingerbread Pudding

¾ cups whipping cream

2 ¼ cups milk (I used
2%)

1 vanilla bean pod,
halved lengthwise and seeds scraped out

2” piece of fresh ginger,
peeled and cut into slices

1 tsp black
peppercorns

2 cinnamon sticks,
broken into pieces

6 cloves

1 star anise

3 egg yolks

½ cup sugar

3 Tbs corn starch

1 tbs molasses

3 Tbs butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp salt

In a medium saucepan,
combine the whipping cream, milk, vanilla bean pod AND seeds*, ginger,
peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves and star anise.Heat over medium heat, just until milk starts to simmer around the
edges.Remove from heat and allow to sit
for 20 minutes.

Combine the egg yolks,
sugar, corn starch and molasses in a small bowl.Whisk until all ingredients are thoroughly
combined.

Slowly pour about half
of the milk mixture through a sieve into the egg mixture.Whisk thoroughly and then pour this mixture
back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture.Place over medium heat and cook, stirring
constantly, until the mixture thickens and just begins to reach a boiling point.Remove from heat and add butter, the vanilla
extract and salt.Stir until butter is
melted.Place a piece of wax paper
directly on the pudding to keep a skin from forming and allow to cool until
ready to use.Refrigerate any leftovers.

* If your sieve has too fine of a mesh, you might want to keep the vanilla bean seeds set aside until after you've strained the milk mixture and then stir it in.

About Me

No journeys of self-discovery here. I pretty much know who I am. No-nonsense (and sometimes brutally honest), I believe in eking everything I can out of this existence.
I’m a hard-core multi-tasker. The word ‘serene’ would never be used to describe me.
I love to create. And whether it’s a character, a painting, or a four-course meal, I pour myself into everything I do.
Welcome to my little corner of the world.
Curtain up.